(Updated Jan 2019) Pubs in Budapest come in a variety of styles: some are like German or Austrian beer-halls, some like elegant turn-of-the-century restaurants, others are modern bars. This all reflects the many and varied political and cultural forces which have influenced the city.

A must do visit while in Budapest is to the spar baths this is excellent value for just £6 you can stay all day and they even have a couple of bars in there to! There are saunas, steam room, hot pools cold plunge pools, whirl pools, ice rooms, you can get a massage or mud treatment for around £5. I can not recommend it enough, just do it!

A visit to the catacombs is also a must do, these are series of tunnels under the castle with some interesting, artifacts. Someone has a good sense of humor. Anyway enough of that and back on the beer trail.

There are a lot of bar/restaurants in the main street from the market down to the square, and around the castle area, beware of the waters in these! They are self tipping and usually double the price of everything for tourists. But even in this area you can find a couple of bars worth a look. A good thing to get is a 3 day travel pass for around £12.00 lets you use the public transport in the city, excellent metro system. BKK

As of the end of 2018 there are 12 brewpubs / breweries in Budapest, so lets start with then;

A large bar located in an area with many other places which are worth a visit. Pretty modern and minimalistic with a patio and a small second floor. 32 Taps with three house beers, Hungarian micros and a wide range of guest craft beers. Perhaps the best bottle shop in the city located within the bar. Working Wi-Fi! and superb friendly service. English is well spoken here. Beers can be ordered in 0.2 l. Apart from the house beers which are rather cheap, the prices are relatively high for Budapest.

Great location just steps away from Szimpla Kert (ruins bar) and awhole yard of food trucks/trailers/stands. A rather small 2-floor place with the brewery located in the basement. Four of their own beers, friendly service. Great idea with bringing food from neighboring street-food vendors.

To get there take the M3 metro to Ujpest-Kozpont and then tram 12 to its terminus. Its then about ten minutes walk from there, in a rather rundown area. You will be, however, be rewarded with a really nice pub. Very good service, first class food and top beer at cheap suburban prices. They do only one beer which is a Pils, which is a touch sweeter than average. Traditional Hungarian food - many dishes under £5.

Brewpub, located at the brewery. They have 7 taps, offering only their own beer and their own stuff is available in cans and bottles too. Prices are decent, and the place looks good. But maybe better off going to their tap below "vvvvvv"

Huge place near Astoria and Deák tér, just behing the huge sinagogue> With 20 or so taps 20 taps, some of them offering also 1cl pours, others 2cl being the minimum - the majority of them are house beers but also some very interesting imports and collaborations. Very nice prices for the home stuff, but pretty regular (therefore a bit steep for Budapest) for the imports. Decent food, nice service, perhaps slightly above-average prices.

This is a unique place and deserves top marks for ambiance with its geeky steampunk interior. Friendly, attentive service dressed the part. Relatively modest selection of a few of their own beers as well as some Hungarian guest craft. Located on a main road and tram route in Budapest, easy to spot with the metal Kraken or octopus hanging over the entrance! The interior is more interesting than the beer. But, hey!

Lehmann Pékség és Serfőzde, Aranyhegyi út 12.

Open: Closed Sun-Mon / Tues-Sat 06:30 - 16:30

A real curiosity! A Bakery and Brewery were bread and beer are made with conventional technology. Not to be missed ...They brew two kind of lager beer: a dunkel one and a pale lager.

I love German beers. Yes, they only have Paulaner, but what did you expect it is a German Brauhaus? Steep prices, yes, but the food is delicious. Its great to sit near the large brew kettle (were they supposedly make their own beer?). The place looks very good and the food is delicious. The service is OK. Sadly, it’s in a shopping mall.

Another brewpub of interest, its quite a small place inside with nice patio outside. Well worth the trip into the suburbs of Budapest. They have 5 house beers on tap plus few bottled beers, also PET bottles to take away. Beers and great for the price and food is OK but nothing special. No English spoken but you can easily get what you want.

A classic beer cellar brewpub that is more restaurant serving beer since 1985. Classy entrance with brass rails and red carpet leading down stairs, with a nice brick vault ceiling. Restaurant catering to crowds, businessmen and tourist buses. A bit awkward to come in just for a beer, but it is possible they have four beers that are a tad average if that! Leave your inner hipster outside and enjoy this "German styled" beer cellar!

This cool cellar bar is located is on the left side of Hunyadi square. The bar and fridges are located near the entrance, an oblong shaped room with vaulted ceiling divided in three parts by archways. A nice ambiance with an old-style, intimate feel to the place. There are 10 taps, with 0.2L pours available, all prices are under £2 for that size. A nice place, not touristy at all.

30 beers on tap. Great system where you tap your own beer and how much(or little) as you want by using a prepaid card. Games available, TVs showing sport, good music and they do serve food. Friendly and knowledgeable staff!

A nice, hip cellar bar dedicated to craft beer, with both Hungarian and imported craft beers. Really good selection, good vibe, nice music, friendly helpful service. They have food, which looked good, even if the menu is a bit limited. Outside seating at the side of the road is available, were food trucks just park up and serve food and beers! Decent WiFi connection.

Fantastic and understated (perhaps ’cool’) bar near the centre of town. Budapest is famous for this style of bar/pub which is really run down and torn apart, on purpose. If you want the Ritz avoid ’romkocsmák’. Otherwise, this place offers the widest selection of Hungarian craft brews 17 on tap and a few bottles. Large indoor area, nice garden, occasional concert. Staff are not the best in the world?

A centrally placed cellar bar in Pest, just outside of the Jewish quarter that is a short walk from the 4/6 tram. There are 14 beers on tap, ranging from Hungarian craft, to classic German brews, and a variety of others. Nice and welcoming service from the barman, that offered samples and knew his beers. A big selection of of bottled beers and spirits as well. Classical rock music a good ambience. Well recommended for a Budapest trip.

Beautifully located right on the Danube, this place has a strange layout. There’s a big outside patio with FIRST beers on tap, then inside you have mostly Reketye beers. No flights or small pours, except for a couple beers that did come in 0.2L pours. Reasonable prices.

A cool place in a vibrant neighbourhood central Budapest, with a nice relaxed atmosphere, cool staff and a selection of 10 taps and numerous bottle. Smallish bar area but stretched over two floors. Prices are fair but not the cheapest in town. They can improve a little by mentioning the brewery on the board though. Definitely worth a visit.

This is the best and biggest one and some good craft beers from Hungary, some Kaltenecker, and some other special beers,Located on two stories with nooks and crannies galore. A large outside seating are were you can even have a beer in one of the iconic Trabant cars! Ultra Cool! The pub is filled with “junk” sculptures and pictures it really is surreal. Well worth a visit just for the experience.

A stylishly decorated craft beer bar, instant beer geek atmosphere. Well-lit, modern bar with funky colorful decor, there are three areas to sit in, ten beers on tap and hundreds of bottles. Tap selection had some of the higher level Hungarian craft. The service is friendly and knowledgeable. Definitely worth a look.

A small underground place with the atmosphere of an "Grandma's flat from the 70s" shabby but cozy furniture. Typical university students' place, in all the best senses. Not your usual craft beer geek place, but the selection is decent enough with 15-18 taps or so and a huge selection of whiskey with an educated and helpful owner and their prices are impossible to beat. A cool retro ruin pub!

This is a fairly large and quite busy city centre old skool boozer with lots of character and most importantly good beer, actually two swings hanging by the bar counter! That is conveniently located near Kalvin ter, (Fovam Ter metro stop if you prefer not to walk). They have six taps mainly from Monyo with the occasional quality guest beers. They have around 30+ bottles to choose from too. Friendly, helpful service and WiFi. Prices for their own beers are good too and 100 to 200 HUF lower than you might expect to pay elsewhere. In the winter the patio is covered. Definitely worth a stop.

This is a little gem. Great atmosphere, a lovely laid back cellar bar with a fantastic range of 32 beers. All clearly displayed above the bar on big monitor screens, and brought to your table in well updated translated paper format. The food is excellent. Staff friendly and helpful. Toilets ware impeccable! A must for beer lovers.

A cosy, small bar with wooden interior. They have eight taps including three Hungarian micros. They have lots of bottles including around 25 Hungarian beers. Otherwise they have mostly Belgian, Brewdog and German bottles. Good service and great value.

Located close to the ring road, this place is for locals as the atmosphere is nothing special and the bartender usually speaks little to no English. But if you want to try Legenda's line of beers on tap, this is a good place and they have a good variety with 9 taps and a good bottle selection along with a few other Hungarian micro bottles. The inside is a large central bar with some stools, then creative booths and tables with lots of malt bags scattered about, a comfortable enough place. An OK stop if you are nearby. This is a cash only bar, so make sure you don’t rely only on credit cards (also beware of "self tipping").

One of the better beer and food places in town. Amazing house made craft burgers, modern bar food, wide range of beers. You can find the best Hungarian crafts and some good basic Czech ones. Absolutely dog friendly! Highly recommended!

Paul’s Pub on Váci utca 4,

Open 11am - midnight daily

his is a corner pub, selling a fair selection of beer from Austria, Bavaria and the Czech Republic, as well as a fair few Hungarian ones. Paul's Bistro is more than likely the only restaurant on the Vaci Utca that does not have to use "barkers" to sell the restaurant. The food is Hungarian, but lighter than most and beautifully presented. Three different Weissbiers are available although from the bottle. Don’t knock it this is as good as it gets.

A German brewpub, get there as it opens in the evening around 6pm to be sure to geta table excellent food, and a choice of 3 draught biers, including an excellent dark larger. The brewery can be viewed behind a glass screen.Its a beer cellar in the Bavarian/Czech style with a vaulted brick ceiling, tiled floor and wood panelled walls. Just outside the main city centre so you don’t get ripped off. We made this our local.

The best beer place in Budapest. A bar/bottle shop with a great selection of Hungarian and world beers. Carefully selected beers on taps. The only disadvantage is the size of a place. It’s very small and sometimes it’s very hard to get a table.

A true Czech place. A small, cute, quiet bar entirely covered by wood and two big old mirrors. incredibly cozy and comfortable, located in a nice urban neighborhood of Pest. Mostly locals visit here and it can sometimes be busy but they usually have some Czech beers on tap that usually aren't found elsewhere in Budapest. The server can usually speak some English.

Set in a beautiful, pleasant and inviting setting (notice the "car-diner" outside) pleasant and quick service and the food isdelicious and beautifully presented. Nice staff and good range of wines and beers. Practically everything is home-cooked and locally sourced.

A small place just behind the corner from the Belgian Brasserie Henri (above^), has similar beers (I think the owner is the same). A good selection of 70/80 Belgian beers and many glasses.

Otto’s recommendation is to go to the Market at Fovam Ter, trams 47 or 49 just south of Kalvin Ter which is open 6am to 4pm, 2pm Sat closed Sun. On the upper level there are around 6-7 bars/café that all do at least 2 draught beers each one selling from a different brewery so you can get 4 beers and 2 meals for under a £5. The best beer we found was the Dreher Pils at 6% and the most excellent Dreher Bak at 7.8% this one is a dark “bok” beer, beware it is very easy to drink. Also in the market downstairs you will find a stall selling Palotai Asok from a micro called ER-PÉ Serfözö, the beer comes in a 1litre PET bottle, about 75p. Walk down the centre aisle of stalls and find "Kmety & Kmety" about half way down.

Very close to Buda castle, an oldschool style underground bar. The service is very helpful and expert. Huge selection mostly bottled but there is about six tapped beer. But for Hungarian beer, you’re out of luck. A nice cosy place to hang out.

A nice place located almost next to funicular to the Buda castle. It is recognizable from the Belgian beer decorations on the terrace. A Belgian bar which has a touristy feel to it. If you’re interested in Belgian beers beer list is decent, but almost the same selection of beers as in Belgian Brasserie Henri. Bars like this were oases back in the days before the "craft beer" revolution. They have an outdoor patio, inside you go down some stairs to the main level and more stairs to the seating level. There is a bit of an old musty smell to the place, but other wise the ambiance is cool enough; very beer oriented with lots of posters, bottles, glasses and other memorabilia around. Service is good and the food is really quite good overall. You wont leave this place un-happy!

An amazing place in Budapest that's weird but still cozy and welcoming in a undefined way? It's not a bar, it’s a smokers club. Located near the center, right off a residential block. Grab a glass (.2 or .3l) from the manager and sit in his simple but very comfy front room, after you’ve poured your own beer from one of the five taps. Rotating selection of Hungarian craft beers, not great labeling but he’s happy to explain where they’re from and what they’re about. Everything is pay by ’suggested donation’ which goes straight in to a jar on the bar. 100ft/100ml for some beers, 200ft/100ml for the stronger ones. A must see for anyone looking for interesting and tasty micros in a unique setting, even though it is very smoky!

A burger place with 14 or so taps, located right across the street from Csak a Jó Sör and very much worth visiting. A solid tap list of mostly Hungarian beers and mostly hoppy stuff. No flights or small pours, just 0.2L and 0.4L pours. Staff are happy to give free samples and are very friendly and helpful. Not bad, worth a visit if in the area.

A pretty cool cafe style bar in the city specializing in Hungarian beers, the bartenders are really cool, love the wall painting of beer types on the upper level. Great selection of beers, 10 taps plus 25+ bottles, prices are fairly lover compared to other craft beer places in downtown. The biggest problem with this place is however, the loud techno music killing any chance of a cosy ambiance. If convenient, go here. Otherwise there are better options in Budapest.

A medium-sized bar in a lively neighborhood. Looks modern and minimalist, apart from some chairs outside it only has long high tables with stools. Out of the maybe 20 taps, a few are occupied by Leffe et al., half of them are not in use and the rest is Hungarian micros of which the brewery name is not always displayed. You must choose between ultra loud thump thump music inside or cigarette smoke outside. You will be happy to know, however, that he music is pumped into the restrooms at even higher volume where it echoes off the tile walls. The staff behind the bar are very friendly and quick, nothing to complain about. Its an experience, and there are a lot better places for a beer.

This is a great place to party the night away! They have good DJ's and the atmosphere is fun and relaxed. It is a big club but not too massive and also not over the top expensive.

I have heard that this is a good tour to see a different Budapest?

budapestUNDERGUIDEinvites you for a 4-hour long walking city discovery tour, where our underguides introduce you the must see spots, let you discover the hidden treasures of the city, and show you around the recommended pubs of the ruinpubs.com! Costs around 100Euro for 4 people.

R.I.P.

Chicago on Erzsébet Körút 2, (possibly closed?)

A brew pub in a modern building on a large square, very handily placed next to the Blaha Lujza tér. The large central carved wooden bar is surrounded by booths. The walls are covered in a selection of slightly odd beer-related pictures, mostly with an American flavour. Over the bar is a panoramic photo of Chicago and the copper brewing vessels in the next room are visible through a couple of windows.

A really good brewpub to visit, but it is quite a long way out of the centre through the de-militarised zone is;

A great little brewpub without much decoration which may make it somewhat unique again. Just serving Hopfanatic beers and spirits. Service is great, really trying to help out.They usually have 6 beers on draught and the odd bottle.